spade20k

Hey, I'm a current grad student in Civil Engineering at Davis now. I'm looking to fill the second bedroom in my duplex. It has a washer/dryer, dishwasher, awesome backyard, carport, etc. It's about 1.5 miles to campus. Message me if you're interested. Thanks!

I just left UT Austin but housing in Austin ranges depending on what you're looking for -- pretty much like any place. Craigslist is going to be your best bet (unless you use one of those apartment locators -- they're free too). I would strongly suggest living somewhere where there is a UT Shuttle -- my first year I lived in an area served by only CapMetro and it was a pain. If you guys are looking for an apartment finder, I would suggest MrWestCampus (just google it). He's not affiliated with any management company -- I used him my second year and it worked out pretty well. Also, if you can get in I would strongly recommend university graduate housing as a good cheap option. The complexes are a bit far from campus but they are served by the shuttle and they're SUPER cheap. Hope this helps

I'm in a transportation PhD program now. When I applied two years ago, I didn't really hear back from anyone until February. My first notification was from Texas A&M in the beginning of January but I think only US students were given admission at that time. Just be patient and remember, for transportation graduate programs, most programs probably won't begin to look at applications until after TRB. Congrats on getting into Missouri!

Northampton is definitely more interesting than Amherst. It's a totally different crowd in Northampton -- much less "undergrady". I think Northampton tends to be a bit more expensive, but don't quote me on that. So the bus system is really reliable, even in the winter. It is also free for students (on the Northampton bus, you NEED to show your student ID to ride for free though). If the buses can't run because of weather, the school is most likely closed. The bus that goes between UMass and Northampton runs every 15/30 minutes (I'm not sure which because I don't ride the bus to NoHo-- but it does run regularly). Without a car, commuting from Northampton may be difficult because it will be time consuming; google "PVTA B43" and it should bring up the bus schedule. I'm not sure when people "start looking for housing" as I started grad school mid year. I do know that my neighbor has already signed a lease for a new place, so you may want to start looking now. If you haven't done so already, check out UMoch.org (UMass Off-Campus Housing) and craigslist to find housing. The cool thing about UMoch is that you can specify rent, bus route option, utilities, pets, location, etc. UMoch is a really great service and I'm super disappointed that other institutions do not have a similar service. If you choose to live in Amherst, I would avoid using Kamins Real Estate -- their properties are poorly kept and the few times I tried to contact them, I felt like I was a second thought and I //really// had to stay on them to call me back. I hope this helps!

If anyone has any questions about UMass or the general Amherst area, I'm currently a master's student at UMass. Feel free to shoot me a PM or something Congrats to all of you!

Craigslist is always an option. Also, talk to people who are currently in the program -- maybe they can point you in the right direction

Hey! So I'm having a lot of trouble deciding between two schools for a PhD in Civil (concentration Transportation). I've visited both and I can't seem to decide between the two. The professors at each university are highly reputable in their fields. Both are fantastic schools -- although, after talking to the professors at my program, I have the feeling that Austin has a better reputation than A&M (One professor basically said, "Why consider anything BUT UT Austin"). The support (which isn't that big of a deal in the long run) from A&M is a lot better (2600/month) than UT Austin's support (1845/month) -- also the cost of living at College Station - Bryan is much lower than Austins. Aside from the money there are few things about each school that worry me -- for simplicity I'm going to list them below. Concerns: UT Austin - I found the students to be a bit cold. They're a bit older and most of the students I met were married and I didn't get a huge sense of community among the students. - Austin, Texas -- Everyone loves Austin, but I'm not sure if I really want to live in a city. I go to UMass now and one of the things that I love about Amherst is that it is a nice and small college town. During the Spring and Summer there are cute fairs/festivals/carnivals/etc. on the town green. All in all for UT Austin, I'm just concerned about fitting in and connecting with the other students, which is a big deal for me now because that's part of the reason why I'm leaving UMass after my Masters. Concerns: Texas A&M - I want to teach and although A&M has TTI (a HUGE Transportation research center -- the largest in the US), I know that they don't send many people into faculty positions unlike UT Austin. - The town is a bit (and by a bit, I mean very) conservative -- which wouldn't necessarily be an issue but I've always been in very liberal environments. I love the students at A&M, the size of College Station, but I'm wicked afraid that going to A&M could severely jeopardize my chances in the future. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

you guys SHOULD be able to do this with no problem. I have a friend who goes to A&M for civil and she's making money her stipend is so high and the cost of living is so low. My only advice is to avoid the university apartments.. they seemed incredibly expensive and you don't get a lot for your money. (I should probably mention that when I went to visit they gave us a tour of the university housing and one apartment complex, neither of which were incredibly impressive) Be aware of the living communities that do roommate matching -- they seem like a good deal but you have to live with someone and it's none of your furniture.

And American students too (for science) You may want to have a safety school too though, just in case. There are so many international applicants applying to the same schools and clearly they can't get into all of them -- there isn't enough space. So keep that in mind too

Any suggestions as to which apartment complexes? Craigslist is a mess with all the apartment hunters Thanks!!

Hey! I'm most likely attending in the fall too. Anyone from the College of Engineering around?

So I'm from the NY metro area and when I was younger, my friends and I would visit Fordham and watch the kids do jug (we were terrible but it was funny) so I'm pretty familiar with the Fordham University area. Anyways, Brooklyn to Bronx: That's a hike and multiple subway and bus transfers. Look at it like an Oreo, Manhattan is the cream and the Bronx and Brooklyn are the chocolate cookies. It's probably around a 2hour commute via bike but maybe only an hour and a half on the subway. You may just want to convince them to live in the Bronx. I think it may be easier to commute to Central Manhattan too from Fordham. In addition to the subway, the MetroNorth has a stop at Fordham and that's about a 15 minute train ride to Grand Central Station. I hope that helps!

Hey! So I'm likely going to UT in the fall too. Does anyone have any insight into the living situation there? I guess what I'm really wondering is if it is better to spend $900/month (includes all utilities except for internet and tv) for an apartment right next to campus with parking and a w/d or live out further towards Far West and spend less for the same amenities? Is the UT shuttle reliable? I will have a motor scooter there too that I would register to park on campus -- if I live in Far West or not right next to campus. Any ideas? thanks!

And I'm saying bye bye to MIT. Decisions were posted on the website. Oh well... Has anyone heard back from ASU or Irvine yet?

And if you care, they have a //really// good basketball team.

Thanks! Now where does it give you your status? Sorry if it's right in my face I just am having difficulty finding it.

So, on the results board a lot of people are saying that they were accepted/rejected via website, for CEE. What is the link to the webpage? Please, help a sister out. Thanks!

For those who applied to MIT, was there a website where you could check your status? Sorry about all the rejections -- mine is coming too

Hey! So I go to UMass now (not in the Math program but I know a bunch of the students, but I was a math major in undergrad at on of the 5Cs -- not umass (trying to show that I'm not 100% biased)) and in terms of Math, they are really trying to build up the program and have made the program a lot more selective than it use to be. Also, I know nothing about Northeastern's program, so I can't compare the two. Basically, I can give a breakdown of the Amherst area as well as UMass, etc. Program/Professors/etc.: Like anywhere, they have good and bad professors (teaching wise). Across the board, the professors seem to //really// care about the students. I took a few math grad classes (pure) at UMass as an undergrad and the professors always made themselves available, even if you couldn't meet with them during their office hours. Not only is there the TWIGS (The What Is... Graduate Seminar) at UMass but there are number theory, geometry, etc. seminars at Amherst and the other colleges. Also, GEO (Graduate Employment Organization) is probably one of the best groups, EVER. As a GEO member (if you have a TA/RA) you're entitled to benefits such as reduced health insurance ($58 semester or year -- I forget which but the health insurance is AMAZING), reduced parking permit fee (so $60 for the lot that you would park in if you had a car rather than $300+), and a few free events with food. GEO is something that I'm really going to miss when I leave UMass. Amherst area: So from the people I know in the department, they actually avoid living in Amherst and tend to prefer Northampton. The Pioneer Valley in general stresses locally-grown, owned, and anything else you can place "local" in front of. It gets cold in the winter and can get very hot in the summer. There are a few chain stores at the malls, but in the towns the stores and shops are independently run and owned. The upside is that a lot of the seasonal fruits and vegetables are grown in the valley and it's nice to know that you're supporting the local businesses and farms without paying a premium price to do so. Amherst is a very cute/quaint town that is definitely overrun by stereotypical UMass undergrads. It's amazing in the summer and there are festivals/fairs/carnivals/etc year round on the Amherst Commons that make it a very enjoyable place to live -- I live in downtown Amherst and during the fall/spring/summer I LOVE the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. In Amherst, the bars close at 1am and they really kick you out at 1am -- which seems incredibly early coming from New York where they close at 4. Northampton is the "city" in the pioneer valley and has a lot of very good (decently priced) restaurants and concert venues. I don't go to Northampton very frequently because I live in Amherst and for me Amherst has pretty much everything I need. There is a bus that runs between Amherst and Northampton which is free for students/faculty/5C affiliates.There is definitely more to do in Northampton than there is in Amherst. It is less overrun by undergrads and in general it seems to be a very laidback and liberal town. Just for completeness: the bars in Northampton close at 2am but stop letting people in at 1am. Housing: If you choose to go to UMass, housing (compared to Boston) is cheap. If you want to live alone, that is considerably more expensive. A single in Amherst can run you anywhere from $500-$950/month (utilities are usually included when you get towards the more expensive properties). There are a few studio apartments in Amherst and I included those in the price of a single -- the studios I've seen run from $500 (+heat, hot water, electricity) to about $695 (heat, hot water, and electric included) and the studios are SMALL. If you want a 1-bedroom, I would suggest paying a little more a true one bedroom. A 2 bedroom is about $500-$700/month depending on who you rent from. I pay $650/month and all utilities (+ internet/cable) are included. Apartments/houses on a bus route are more expensive than those not on a bus route, but I think everything balances out in the end. You can pretty much find any type of housing you want in the Amherst area and with the buses, you really don't need to have a car but it does make shopping a lot easier. This may be premature but you really want to avoid the apartment complexes just North of campus (if you choose to live in Amherst) -- Puffton, Crestview, Presidential, Townhouses, and Brandywine get very loud on Thursday-Saturday nights. Students: First let me say that there is a //really// strong community at UMass among the math students -- they really do hang out all the time, going bowling, movies, diner, etc. So basically, what you experienced at UMass wasn't a charade. I visited a school in Decemeber and the students //seemed// to get along, but when I saw a few of the students in January, I found out that there is a lot of animosity among the students. Also, I should probably stress that Amherst/Northampton/UMass is //very// liberal and that includes the students -- I don't really care one way or another, but you might so I figured I would just put it out there. Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps!

Thanks!! So yeah... I don't know if I would hesitate to ask about funding or when you expect to hear back about funding, because that is a huge part of the choosing a school for a lot of people.

Hey! So I had the same deal at GATech too. I talked to the person who was the head of my program (Meyer) and he told me what was going on in regards to funding and gave me my letter on Friday. Were you the only one there this weekend who hadn't heard about funding? I don't think its unreasonable to ask about it because professors know that funding can (and mostly likely will) influence your decision.

Nope, nothing yet and pretty much everyone I talked to (at university visits) hadn't either.

I'm just repeating what they told me. "We didn't have enough money to fund PhD students this year." Cooper, I would suggest calling and seeing what they have to say to you. Maybe I misunderstood what they told me. And Skyflash, I called them -- they didn't indicate if they were sending mail or not. Sorry...

Hey everyone! So I finally called UC Berkeley because I know two people (one masters and one PhD) who were admitted to the program. Michael Cassidy let me know that I wasn't accepted because they had no funding for PhD students. Oh well, I wasn't going to Berkeley anyways but they could at least have emailed me or something. I'm guessing that if you haven't heard back from Berkeley chances are they're avoiding the dreaded rejection email. Sorry and good luck everyone else.

Although I'm transpo, I just heard back from VT yesterday/today. Hopefully you'll hear soon too!